 "India sent a warning to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the rest of the teams in the 2025 Asia Cup with a 9-wicket thrashing of hosts UAE in their opening game in Dubai. Reuters")
Team India sent a dire warning to their continental rivals with an all-round display against hosts United Arab Emirates in their opening game of the 2025 Asia Cup in Dubai on Wednesday. The Men in Blue underlined their status as world champions in the shortest format with a dominant bowling display, bundling UAE out for just 57, before their top three batters chased the target down inside the powerplay.
Men in Blue outplay UAE completely
The toast of India’s red-hot bowling display was Kuldeep Yadav, who had been ignored for the entirety of the recent Test series in England and made a triumphant return into the Indian XI with a haul of 4/7, while seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube collected 3/4.
The trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy collected a wicket each while openers Alishan Sharafu (22) and captain Muhammad Waseem (19) were the only members of the UAE batting lineup to enter double digits.
Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16) and India vice-captain Shubman Gill (20 not out off 9 balls) later got India off to a flying start, stitching together a 48-run opening stand inside four overs. Abhishek, who smashed a six and a four in the first two balls of the chase, departed with India on the verge of a dominant victory, with captain Suryakumar Yadav walking in and starting off with a six first up.
Gill, who had recently led India to a 2-2 draw in the five-match Test series in England, sealed India’s triumph with a boundary off left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh as the Men in Blue cruised home with a whopping 93 deliveries to spare.
How social media reacted to India’s clinical display
Here’s how former and current cricketers as well as fans reacted to India’s clinical display in Dubai: